Improvement in orain-bindina mechanisms



UNITED l STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IMPROVEMENT IN' 'y GRAIN-BIN DIN G- MECHANISMS,

Nprri/mlonjbrminy part of.' Letters Paten! No. 25,303, (lu/ml A 1/nxt 30, 155),

Vlle it known that l, ALLEN SHERWOOD, of Auburn, in the count-y of (layuga and State ol' New -York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grain-BindingMechanism; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and oiicration of the same, reference bein g had to the accompanying drawings,1naking a part of this specification, in which- Figure l represents a perspective view taken from thel rear outside corner ot' a harvestingmachine platform, and showing the binding apparatus connected thereto. Fig. 2 represents a lierspeetive view taken from the rear inside corner of the platform, and showing the mechanism for binding the grain on that side ofthe platform. Fig. 3 represents an end elevation of the binding mechanism, taken from the rear ofthe platform.

Similar letters oi' reference where they 0ccur in the several lgures denote like parts of the machine in all ol' them.

One ol' the principal features ol' .my invention consists in the fact that. my grain-binding apparatus may be connected to any niowingmachine already constructed without changing any ot' its material parts, or it may be removed therefrom and leave the machine as perfect as it originally was, its attachment or'rcnioval in nowise changing the construetion or character of the mowing-machine as a whole. lts operation is in part manual and in part automatic.

'.lo enable, others skilled in the art to make and use. my invention,l will proceed to describe the same with reference to thepdrawings.

represents the platform of a harvestingmachine and l) the rakers stand affixed thereto. (l is the binders seat. rear ofthe drive-wheel and'in close proximity to the delivery point or place on the platform, so that as the shea-I' is bound it may he easily delivered onto the ground, to make room for the gallico-ring in ol' the next gavel that is to be bound. lt is dillicult. to describe the location ol' this bindt-fs seat by its proximity or otherwise to any ol' the parts of a harvesting-ma- It is located in chine, as they are so unich varied in their arrangement, and my binding apparatus is applicable to any oi'l the generally known and used machines, and can be connected to or rcmoved l'roin them without any detriment -to their use in other respects. 1 The deliverypoint on the platform or the position ol' the l'akcr on the machine., are the only points that' restrict or define the. proper location o1' the binders seat. l

.ln the platform, as herein representei'l, and with the raker stationed at Il, the delivery would be at or near the point l), and hence I arrange the binders seat so that this point I) shall be convenient for both the raker and the binder at-thei r respective positions; and thus ,I 1n no manner change the location'l ot' the raker or theV point. of delivery, leaving them as free to he used without the binding apparatus as before it was applied. The machine need not be altered in any ot its essentials, n or need it be specially constructed for the reception of my bindingapparatus. l0n the con trary,1 make the binding mechanism independent ot any form of machine, and connect it to or with any of the forms of machines already constructed. Or, I can remove it from any machine to which it has been applied, and leave the machine with all its parts or faciliwere originally.

In addition to the felice E, which is ordinarily made on the main frau-ie side ot' the platform, I attach a curved shield or guidepiece, F, (so that it maybe easily removed when req nired,) ust far enough from the fence E to allow a good-sized gave! to lie between them. p Across this space, and alongthe sidi` ot' the fence', are inclined battens or 'strips (l H, under which the binding-wire (shownin the drawings) passes, to prevent the grain from catching` on them as it is drawn into the proper position to be claspedl by said wire, 0n top of the fence there is a shield, I, which proects over suiteientl y 'ar to catch the grain and prevent it falling into the gearinc. This shield performsanother function, viz: it serves as a guide to thebinding-lever,.to enable it to properly bring and introduce its .part ot' the wire into the'twistingapparatus, where the ties for ordinary delivery, the same as they end of the wire` was previously placed, as will be presently described. To the back ot' the fence is cminectcd thc mechanism by which the tic is made in the wire. lt consists of a i'rame, J, l'or supporting it audj'or holding it to tho part ot' the machine where it is to be connected. ln this trame is hung a cog-wheel, n, on a shaft, b, to which a crank, c, is allixcd. This cogwheel gears with and turns a pinion, d, which has a slot in it to receive the wire, and near it are guides c c, to direct the wire into said slot. The center o' this pinion l .make ol' steel, so that it will not wearaway, by twist-- ingl the wire, as readily the ordinary ccggcdgear metal does. /;/'arc another set ol' guides, between which the parts of thc wire that are to be twisted together pass. g is a bar that is worked back and i'orth through its guides /L by a cani, '6, on,y the shaft l1, which cam strikes against a dctent, is, on said bar. To this bar is connected a vertical cutter, in, that has a cutting-edge on both of its sides, said cutter traveling past the slot in the pinion d, at the proper time to cut ottthe wire after the 'tie is made. n n are bent arms secured tothe .traveling bar g, and onc or the other ot' them is always in place to receive the wire when it is laid iu 'thevlslot ofthe twisting-whcel d, and prevent it from dropping too low. The extent oi traveling motion given to the bar'g is delined by stops, against which it comes, and

"these stops are so arranged that the slot in the twisting-wheel shall always be on top or in the proper position to allow the wire to enter it. This whole twisting and cutting apparatus is screwed to the fence by its frame J,

and can be removed .at an)Y time when not re` `quired to be used.

K is a spool for holding the binding-wire. It may be prevented from too freely turning on its bearing 0 by spring pressure, or by thc person in charge o1' the binding' apparatus, who'may apply his foot to it, and thus allow it to give out and hold onto the wire, as occasion may require.

L is a lever fastened'to the platform atp by a hinge-joint, on which it can freely move. This lever is bent around into the form shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, and has at about midway ot' its length a second hinged ,ioint, (l, for the purpose. of' allowing it to be folded down out olthe way, as seen in Fig. 1, and itshaudle r be within convenient reachingdis'tance ol' the binder'on his seat (l. The hack of this binding-lever li is furnished with several guides,-

or dead-eyes, through which the wire is passed to keep it in proper position, and near its end there isa clampingr device, s, by which the operator may stop the paying ont ol' The wire when the lever is brhughtup and toward the twistiugwheel.

That the operator may not be required to specially guide and dirent the wire in its several positions, arrange several general guiding devices, which, when brought together, perform several duties which it would be cxsimilar operation.

lremely dil'llcult for the .binder to do by hand or even inspect; as, for instance, the shield I is slotted and flanged, as seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the slot allowing the wire to come down low enough into the twisting-wheel, and the anges to guide the lever L into the proper position to guarantee the introduction of the wire, or the bringing of it over the proper point to be introduced into the vtwfsting-wheel. t a are two 'arms on the under side of the lever L, whichcolne upon the wire on each side of the twisting-wheel and force the wire down into its slot.

The operation is as follows: The end of the wire, having been passed from the reel underneath the platform, is brought up and passed through the dead-eyes on the back of the lever L, thence under vthe clamp s, and between friction-rolls in the end of said lever, said lever being folded down, as -in Fig. `l. From the lever the wire passes under or behind the shield pieces or battens G H,'thro'ugh the slot inthe shield I, and finally laid into the' slot of the twisting-wheel d. A spring, c, may be used to hold the wire under the piece H.

The apparatusis now in condition (as seen in Fig. 1) to receive the gavel that is to be bound up. The rallier sweeps the ,grain around bctween' the shield F and the' fence F, so that the center, or thereabout, of the stalks shall lie over thcstri p G; lVhen enough for a gavel has accumulated, the fbi'nder, from -his seat, grasps the handle 1' and vdraws up the lever L, which draws thewire out from behind the ledges G E and passes itaround the gavel, the strain on the wire being regulated by the clamp s, which will hold onto it or let. it pay out, as the operator. may desire, the position of the lever and the wire, when the gavcl is about encircled, being shown in Fig. 2. The end of the lever is now brought down with the arms t n, in; the position shown in Fig. 3, and the bundle is then tightly encircled by the wire,

whilethe arms t u have pressed the portion ot' thev wire between them into the groove of the twisting-wheel d, where an end of the same wire was previously placed. The operator, still holding on with his left hand to the lever, takes hold with his right hand of the crank c and gives it one turn or one revolution, which gives the cog-wheel a a revolution on its shaft, and one turn of' the wheel a gives several turns to the twisting-wheel d, twisting the two portions o' the wire t'ghtly together and-forming a tie. A-t about the termination of the rotation of the shaft l) its cam t' strikes against a detent, lr, on the bar v r/ 'and drives said bar belore it. This moving of the bar g causes the knife. m to move past the wires and sever them.

The' bundle now bound, and, the wire cut, it is thrown onto the ground. The operator now places the end ofthe wirein the twistingwheel, moves the lever into the position shown in Fig. l, arranges the wire behind the ledges G H, and the machine is ready for another From this description oi' each individual r11-eration the whole 1mi-y seem intricate and require a considerable period of time to effect it. Such is not the case, for all that the binder does is to draw up the lcvcr h with his lci't hand and turn the crank c with his right side of the delivery portion of the platform, so

that the .shield shall protect the lever from the cnt material and form one side oi' an opencndcd grain-receiver, (the felice E forming the other side t.hcrcof',) where the grain is deposited previous io being bound np, as described.

2. ln combination with the rakers vstand B and binders seat U, the shield F and lever L, so arranged asthat the raker from his stand may sweep the cnt grain into the receiver, and the binder from his seat reach beyond the re ceivcr to catch the lever L, as set forth.

3. In combination. with the grain-receiver the inclined ledges G H, under which the wire is passed, so as not to catch or interfere with the entrance ofthe grain therein, as setforth.

4. The slot and anges in the shield I, said flanges serving` as a guide for properly brin ging down the foot of the lever to insert the wire in the twisting-wheel, as set forth.

5. In combination with the lever L the clamp s, located in close proximity to the handle i', so that the binder, as he draws up the gavel, may check the paying ont of the wire, and thus bring it tightly around the bundle, as set forth. 4 6. The combination of a removable shield and lever, F L, on the platform, with a removable twisting mechanism on the fence or side of the platform G, for the purpose of adapting an ordinary hauddelivery mowinginachine into a self-binder, or ,vice versa, without in any manner altering the parts which enables it to be so changed, except to attach or detach them, as set forth.

C. .1. WILLIAMS, WM. McDoUGALLI 

